V. I. Lenin

Letter to the Bolshevik Comrades

Attending the Congress of Soviets of The Northern Region

Written:October, 1917First Published:November 7, 1925 inPravdaNo. 255; Published according to a type written copySource:Lenin’sCollected
      Works, Progress Publishers, Moscow, Volume 26, 1972,
      pp. 182-187Translated:Yuri Sdobnikov and George
      Hanna, Edited by George HannaTranscription & HTML Markup:Charles
      Farrell and David WaltersOnline Version:Lenin Internet ArchiveNovember,
      2000

Our revolution is passing through a highly critical
      period. This crisis coincides with the great crisis—the
      growth of the world socialist revolution and the struggle waged
      against it by world imperialism. A gigantic task is being
      presented to the responsible leaders of our Party, and failure
      to perform it will involve the danger of a complete collapse of
      the internationalist proletarian movement. The situation is such
      that, in truth, delay would be fatal.

Take a glance at the international situation. The growth of a
      world revolution is beyond dispute. The outburst of indignation
      on the part of the Czech workers has been suppressed with
      incredible ferocity, testifying to the government's extreme
      fright. Italy too has witnessed a mass outbreak in Turin.[1]Most
      important, however, is the revolt in the German navy. One can
      imagine the enormous difficulties of a revolution in a country
      like Germany, especially under present conditions. It cannot be
      doubted that the revolt in the German navy is indicative of the
      great crisis—the growth of the world revolution. While our
      chauvinists, who are advocating Germany's defeat, demand a
      revolt of the German workers immediately, we Russian
      revolutionary internationalists know from the experience of
      1905-17 that a more impressive sign of the growth of revolution
      than a revolt among the troops cannot be imagined.

Just think what our position is now in the eyes of the German
      revolutionaries. They can say to us: We have onlyLiebknechtwho openly called for a revolution. His voice has been stifled
      in a convict prison. We have not a single newspaper which openly
      explains the necessity for a revolution; we have not got freedom
      of assembly. We have not a single Soviet of Workers' or
      Soldiers' Deputies. Our voice barely reaches the real, broad
      mass of people. Yet we made an attempt at revolt, although our
      chance was only one in a hundred. But you Russian revolutionary
      internationalists have behind you a half-year of free agitation,
      you have a score of newspapers, you have a number of Soviets of
      Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, you have gained the upper hand
      in the Soviets of Petrograd and Moscow, you have on your side
      the entire Baltic fleet and all the Russian troops in
      Finland. And still you do not respond to our call for an
      uprising, you do not overthrow your imperialist, Kerensky,
      although the chances are a hundred to one that your uprising
      will be successful.

Yes, we shall be real traitors to the International if, at such
      a moment and under such favourable conditions, we respond to
      this call from the German revolutionaries with
      . . .mereresolutions.

Add to this, as we all perfectly well know, that the plotting
      and conspiracy of the international imperialists against the
      Russian revolution are rapidly growing. International
      imperialism is coming closer to the idea of stifling the
      revolution at all costs, stifling it both by military measures
      and by a peace made at the expense of Russia. It is this that is
      making the crisis in the world socialist revolution so acute,
      and is rendering our delay of the uprising particularly
      dangerous—I would almost say criminal.

Take, further, Russia's internal situation. The petty-bourgeois
      compromising parties which expressed the naïve confidence of the
      masses in Kerensky and in the imperialists in general, are
      absolutely bankrupt. Their collapse is complete. The vote cast
      against coalition by the Soviet curia at the Democratic
      Conference, the vote cast against coalition by amajorityof the local Soviets of Peasants' Deputies (in
      spite of their central Soviet, where Avksentyev and other
      friends of Kerensky's are installed), the elections in Moscow,
      where the working-class population has the closest ties with the
      peasants, and whereover 49 per centvoted for the
      Bolsheviks (and among the soldiers fourteen thousand out of
      seventeen thousand)—does this not signify that the
      confidence of the people in Kerensky and in those who are
      compromising with Kerensky and Co. has completely collapsed? Can
      one imagine any way in which the people could say more clearly
      to the Bolsheviks than they did by this vote, "Lead us, we shall
      follow you"?

And we, who have thus won the majority of the people over to our
      side, and who have gained the Soviets in both the capital
      cities—are we to wait? What for? For Kerensky and his
      Kornilovite generals to surrender Petrograd to the Germans, and
      thus enter directly or indirectly, openly or secretly, into a
      conspiracy withbothBuchananandWilhelm for
      the purpose of completely stifling the Russian revolution.

By the Moscow vote and by the re-elections to the Soviets, the
      people have expressed their confidence in us, but that is not
      all. There are signs of growing apathy and indifference. That is
      understandable. It implies not the ebb of the revolution, as the
      Cadets and their henchmen vociferate, but the ebb of confidence
      in resolutions and elections. In a revolution, the masses demand
      action, not words from the leading parties, they demand
      victories in the struggle, not talk. The moment is approaching
      when the people may conceive the idea that the Bolsheviks are no
      better than the others, since they were unableto actwhen the people placed confidence in them. . . .

The peasant revolt is spreading over the whole country. It is
      perfectly clear that the Cadets and their hangers-on are
      minimising it in every way and are claiming it to be nothing but
      "riots" and "anarchy". That lie is being refuted because in the
      revolt centres the land is beginning to be handed over to the
      peasants. "Riots" and "anarchy" have never led to such splendid
      political results! The tremendous strength of the peasant revolt
      is shown by the fact that the compromisers and the
      Socialist-Revolutionaries ofDyelo Naroda, andevenBreshko-Breshkovskaya, have begun to talk of
      transferring the land to the peasants in order to check the
      movement before it has finally engulfed them.

Are we to wait until the Cossack units of the Kornilovite
      Kerensky (who was recently exposed as a Kornilovite by the
      Socialist-Revolutionaries themselves) succeed in suppressing
      this peasant revoltpiecemeal?

Apparently, many leaders of our Party have failed to note thespecificmeaning of the slogan which we all adopted and  
      which we have repeated endlessly. The slogan is "All Power to
      the Soviets". There were periods, there were moments during the
      six months of the revolution, when this slogan did not mean
      insurrection. Perhaps those periods and those moments blinded
      some of our comrades and led them to forget that now, at least
      since the middle of September, this slogan for us too has becomeequivalent to a call for insurrection.

There can be no shadow of doubt on this score.Dyelo
      Narodarecently explained this "in a popular way", when it
      said "Kerensky will under no circumstances submit!" As if he
      could!

The slogan "All Power to the Soviets" is nothing but a call for
      insurrection. And the blame will be wholly and undoubtedly ours,
      if we, who for months have been calling upon the people to
      revolt and repudiate compromise, fail to lead them to revolt on
      the eve of the revolution's collapse, after the people have
      expressed their confidence in us.

The Cadets and compromisers are trying to scare us by citing the
      example of July 3-5, by pointing to the intensified agitation of
      theBlack
      Hundreds,and so forth. But if any mistake was made on July
      3-5, it was that we did not take power. I do not think we made a
      mistake then, for at that time we were notyetin a
      majority. But now it would be a fatal mistake, worse than a
      mistake. The spread of Black Hundred agitation is
      understandable. It is an aggravation of extremes in an
      atmosphere of a developing proletarian and peasant
      revolution. But to use this as an argumentagainstan
      uprising is ridiculous, for the impotence of the Black Hundreds,
      hirelings of the capitalists,the impotence of the Black
      Hundreds in the struggle, does not even require proof. In
      the struggle they are not worth considering. In the struggle
      Kornilov and Kerensky can only rely on the Savage Division and
      the Cossacks. And now demoralisation has set in even among the
      Cossacks; furthermore, the peasants are threatening them with
      civil war within their Cossack regions.

I am writing these lines on Sunday, October 8. You will read
      them not earlier than October 10. I have heard from a comrade
      who passed through here that people travelling on the Warsaw
      railway say, "Kerensky is bringing Cossacks to Petrograd!" This
      is quite probable, and it will be entirely our fault if we do
      not verify itmost carefullyand do notmake a
      studyof the strength and distribution ofthe
      Kornilovite troops of the second draft.

Kerensky has again brought Kornilovite troops into the vicinity
      of Petrograd in order to prevent state power from passing into
      the hands of the Soviets, in order to prevent this power from
      proposing an immediate peace, in order to prevent all the land
      from being immediately handed over to the peasants, in order to
      surrender Petrograd to the Germans, and himself escape to
      Moscow! That is the slogan of the insurrection which we must
      circulate as widely as possible and which will have a tremendous
      success.

We must not wait for the All-Russia Congress of Soviets, which
      the Central Executive Committee may delay even until
      November. We must not delay and permit Kerensky to bring up more
      Kornilovite troops. Finland, the fleet and Revel are represented
      at the Congress of Soviets. These can together start an
      immediate movement on Petrograd against the Kornilovite
      regiments, a movement of the fleet, artillery, machine-guns and
      two or three army corps, such as have shown, for instance in
      Vyborg, the intensity of their hatred for the Kornilovite
      generals, with whom Kerensky is again in collusion.

It would be a great mistake to refuse to seize the opportunity
      of immediately smashing the Kornilovite regiments of the second
      draft on the ground that the Baltic fleet, by moving into
      Petrograd, would allegedly expose the front to the Germans. The
      Kornilovite slanderers will say this, as they will tell any lie,
      but it is unworthy of revolutionaries to allow themselves to be
      intimidated by lies and slanders. Kerensky will surrender
      Petrograd to the Germans, that is now as clear as daylight. No
      assertions to the contrary can destroy our full conviction that
      this is so, for it follows from the entire course of events and
      Kerensky's entire policy.

Kerensky and the Kornilovites will surrender Petrograd to the
      Germans. And it is in order to save Petrograd that Kerensky must
      be overthrown and power taken by theSoviets of both capital
      cities.These Soviets will immediately propose a peace to
      all the nations and will thereby fulfil their duty to the German
      revolutionaries. They will thereby also be taking a decisive
      step towards frustrating the criminal conspiracies against the
      Russian revolution, the conspiracies of international
      imperialism.

Only the immediate movement of troops from Finland, and of the
      Baltic fleet, Revel and Kronstadt against the Kornilovite forces
      quartered near Petrograd can save the Russian and the world
      revolution. Such a movement has a hundred to one chance of
      leadingwithin a few daysto the surrender of a part of
      the Cossack troops, to the utter defeat of the other part, and
      to the overthrow of Kerensky, for the workers and the soldiers
      of both capital cities will support such a movement.

In truth, delay would be fatal.

The slogan "All Power to the Soviets" is a slogan of
      insurrection. Whoever uses this slogan without having grasped
      this and given thought to it will have only himself to
      blame. And insurrection must be treated as anart.I
      insisted on this during the Democratic Conference and I insist
      on it now,becausethat is what Marxism teaches us, and
      it is what is being taught us by the present situation in Russia
      and in the world generally.

It is not a question of voting, of attracting the Left
      Socialist-Revolutionaries, of additional provincial Soviets, or
      of a congress of these Soviets. It is a question of
      insurrection, whichcanand must be decided by
      Petrograd, Moscow, Helsingfors, Kronstadt, Vyborg and Revel. It
      isin the vicinity of Petrogradand in Petrograd itself
      that the insurrection can, and must be decided on and effected,
      as earnestly as possible, with as much preparation as possible,
      as quickly as possible and as energetically as possible.

The fleet, Kronstadt, Vyborg, and Revel can and must advance on
      Petrograd; they can and must smash the Kornilovite regiments,
      rouse both the capital cities, start a mass agitation for a
      government which will immediately give land to the peasants and
      immediately make proposals for peace, overthrow Kerensky's
      government and establish such a government.

Delay would be fatal.

October 8, 1917.

[1]The
      reference is to the large anti-war manifestations in Turin,
      Italy, in August 1917. A demonstration against the food shortage
      broke out on August 21. The workers struck the following day,
      and a general strike followed. Barricades were thrown up. The
      movement assumed a political, anti-war character. On August 23
      Turin's suburbs were in the hands of the insurgents. The
      Government threw the army against them and imposed martial
      law. The general strike was called off on August 27.